1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to apparatuses for managing a network, methods for managing the network and computer-readable recording media having a program recorded thereon for causing a computer to manage the network, and more particularly to an apparatus for managing a network, a method for managing the network and a computer-readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon for causing a computer that monitor devices connected to the network to manage the network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in order to handle problems of a distributed system, an agent, which is a program for monitoring computers and network devices (such as a router, a hub or the like) that are connected to a network, is provided to each device in the network. A management server collects configuration information from each agent and displays a map based on the configuration information. The management server receives a problem event, such as a SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) trap, sent by the agent when a problem has occurred. Then, the management server blinks an icon indicating the configuration information corresponding to the device where the problem event occurred, so as to notify an administrator of the problem with that device.
Thus, in a case in which a plurality of devices (routers, hubs, computers, and the like) are connected to a network, a problem occurring at a single device may influence other devices. As a result, an icon indicating by the configuration information corresponding to each of the other devices ends up blinking. This makes it difficult to distinguish which device originally caused the problem. Since special knowledge is required to specify which device originally caused the problem, it is difficult to immediately deal with the problem.
Further, the network structure and connected devices (routers, hubs, computers, and the like) to be managed may change. It is desired to recognize this change and automatically specify a problem device.